Review by S J Holetz
After what has been a cold,
showless winter here in
week and roust
metal's glorious Bacta Tank. Having previously caught
had been greatly anticipating a full set from this
tremendous band, and
having the excellent Faceless
and prog
metal pioneers Cynic
on the
same bill was a definite bonus. Thus, like the terrifying
interdimensional entity which
threatens Earth
from the latest Faceless
CD, we descended upon El Corazon with ravenous ears.
Speaking of which, props to the
El Corazon staff for the most efficient line handling I've
yet seen at
this
club.
I can't recall a longer line, yet despite the sellout
crowd, they
managed to keep our time standing next to the
open dumpster at an absolute minimum, and we were soon
wending our way past the recycling containers
toward
the impending metal apocalypse. Well done.
A round of Mac and Jacks (Redmond's Finest!) [link]
and a Burning of I
recording
update (coming soon!)
[link]
later, and we were primed for Los Angeles' collective The Faceless [Myspace]
to kick things off. Vocalist
Derek Rydquist led the band with a single roared
"Seattle!" as they
opened with the
sweepingly atmospheric
"Akeldama", before digging deep into latest release Planetary
Duality (see
Bonehand review [here]). Remarkably
tight and dextrous, guitarists Michael Keene and Steve
Jones ratcheted
up the brutality nicely, as
they cycled
through new tunes “Xenochrist”, “Sons of Belial” and
“Coldly Calculated
Design”, with Rydquist trading
his trademark
growls with (perhaps Cynic-ally
inspired?)
clean vocals from
This was followed by
a fantastic
take on “Legions of the Serpent” before The Faceless
shifted back to
their debut
for stunning closer "An Autopsy." I was disappointed that
personal fave
"Pestilence" fell victim to the time constraints
of the short opening set, but as that was my lone gripe
for the
evening, life is sweet.
Next, we were fortunate to
witness the first ever
with their highly melodic offering, highlighted by the
fluid
technicality of founding guitarist Paul Masvidal. The
guitarist
was joined for the tour by Robin Zeilhorst and guitarist
Tymon
Kruidenier, who supplied deathly growls in counterpoint
to Masvidal's sweet, soaring lead vocals, adding a
distinctive touch to
such tunes as "The Space for This" and classic
crowd pleaser "Veil of Maya". Yet despite the amazing
axework on
display, I found my attention repeatedly pulled from
the song at large to focus on the astounding jazzy
cymbalwork of
longtime Cynic
drummer Sean
Reinert, whose skills
served perfectly to whet the appetite for what was to come
from
Meshuggah’s Tomas
Haake.
A moment of Spinal Tap-esque
humor ensued during “How Could I” as the band's home-movie
screen
backdrop,
beautifully painted with the cover art to latest release Traced In
Air,
threatened to topple on the diminutive Masvidal.
However, disaster was averted thanks to a nifty one-handed
save from
Zeilhorst, and Cynic completed their satisfying
set with brilliant versions of "Celestial Voyage" and
"Integral Birth."
Many thanks to Reinert for sending a drumstick
spinning my way, a very cool souvenir.
Finally Meshuggah [link],[Myspace]
commandeered
the
stage,
bludgeoning the crowd with the rapidly
stuttering opening riff to “Pravus”. The 8-stringed tones
of guitarists
Fredrik Thordendahl and Marten Hagstrom
diverged then coalesced around the remarkably precise
timekeeping of
drummer Haake, a study in
rhythmic
pulverization. As always, ever-scowling frontman
Jens Kidmans
howled over it all, whipping his body in slow
motion to the percussive throb.
This was followed by the warping
riffage of Obzen’s “Bleed”, which was played in it’s
entirety, and
shortly
thereafter a scorching version of “New Melinnium Cyanide
Christ”. The
ample set
disappeared far too quickly as the
band tore through one great song after another: “Stengah”,
“Lethargica”, “Sane”,
“Rational Gaze”,and even early
crusher “Humiliative”. Throughout, Hagstrom roamed the
stage like a
caged lion, yet remained firmly
interlocked with
Dick Lovgren’s bass as Thordendal cut through it all with
his searing
solos and whale song melodies.
Mesmerized as
I was by the
music, it was far too soon that
Frederik pulled out the talk box for monster closer
"Future Breed
Machine".
I could
have easily listened to Meshuggah
play for several more hours.
In closing, this was one
incredible show. The tour is short however, so catch it
while you can.
The
Faceless
Akeldama
Xenochrist
Sons
of Belial
Shape
Shifters (tape intro to…)
Coldly
Calculated Design
Legion
of the Serpent
An
Autopsy
Didn’t play Pestilence
CYNIC
Nunc Fluens
The Space For This
Evolutionary Sleeper
Veil Of Maya
King Of Those Who Know
Adam's Murmur
I'm But A Wave To...
How Could I
Celestial Voyage
Integral Birth
MESHUGGAH
Pravus
Bleed
Electric
Red
New
Millennium Cyanide Christ
Stengah
The Mouth Licking
What You’ve Bled
Lethargica
Combustion
Suffer In truth
Sane
Humilitive
Rational Gaze
Encore:
Straws Pulled at
Random
Future
Breed
Machine